


A Clean Slate

by radiantgem



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 14:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11419788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantgem/pseuds/radiantgem
Summary: “Back then, when we were still Nobodies, I never would have thought I could live like this, on my own terms. I was so set on just returning to Kairi, and really just becoming her shadow, and living through her.” She gripped the stick in her hands, “Sometimes I’m afraid that this is all a dream, because it’s just too good to be real.”





	A Clean Slate

When Roxas told Naminé to meet him at the top of the tower for “icing on the cake”, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

He told her it was usually reserved as a reward after a hard day’s work, but since she was visiting and she never had it before, today was a special exception. He ran off in a hurry to get whatever it was, which left her alone to wait for him. She gingerly sat on the ledge and let her feet swing back and forth as she took in the scenery of the town below. She wiggled her toes to the soft breeze that brushed her bangs against her cheeks and forehead. She closed her eyes and felt the rays from the setting sun bathe her skin in a comfortable warmth. Simple pleasures that anyone would take for granted, she felt so lucky just to be alive to experience them in the first place.

It wasn’t long before she heard the sound of his familiar footsteps, and so she opened her eyes and turned towards the sound to see him holding two aquamarine popsicles in his hands. His face lit up in excitement when he caught her eye, “Tada!”

She gave him an amused smile, “Ice cream?”

“Sea salt ice cream. You _have_ to try it,” he gave her one of the frozen treats as he took a seat beside her. “It’s my favorite.”

“Huh,” she stared at the treat before taking a small bite out of it, her face scrunching a bit as she tasted the sea salt hit her tongue. “It’s salty, but. . .” Her face began to mellow out.

“Sweet?”

She nodded, “I can see why it’s your favorite.”

He beamed as he took a large bite from his, “Glad you like it.”

Naminé admired the soft hues the sky was painted in as she enjoyed her ice cream. She studied them and how their colors intermingled and meshed to create new ones, hoping to recreate those same colors in her drawings. She was broken out of her reverie when she heard Roxas clear his throat.

“So, how’s life?”

She smiled a little, “Good actually. I’m free to roam the castle, though I usually stay in my room. They’re trying to get me out of it more though.”

“I bet Ven likes to bother you. He always had to talk about something back in Sora’s heart.

Naminé chuckled lightheartedly, “He always pays a visit. 'To make sure I’m alive' he says.” She swung her legs back and forth, “He has a lot more energy than me, so he tries to get me to go outside with him. Sometimes I’ll train with him, but I typically have something to draw in the area.” She shook her head as a bemused smile grew on her face, “Once I tried to get him to learn how to paint. It was a huge mess.”

Roxas grinned, “He’s too energetic for that.”

“Too energetic for painting, but he’s good at sewing.”

Roxas blinked. “He’s- what?”

Naminé’s eyes twinkled with mirth, “Mmhm, he made me a jacket for the more windy days up there. It’s lovely.”

“Huh,” he stuck the empty popsicle stick into his mouth and let it hang, “The guy’s full of surprises.”

Naminé took another bite out of hers. “Mm, he is.”

“What about the others? Are they nice?”

“Naminé nodded, a warm smile spread across her face, “Aqua is teaching me self defense and gives me tips on how to improve my magic. She likes to make good luck charms and jewelry laced with magic. It’s really amazing,” She scratched her head sheepishly, “Though she can be strict when it comes to me going outside. Even with Ventus around. Especially when we go to the town down below.”

Roxas tilted his head, “But the both of you can take care of yourselves.”

“We can, and she knows, she just can’t help it. ‘It’s a mom thing,’ Ventus says,” she used air quotes to emphasize her point. “She just doesn’t want anything bad happening to us. Terra usually has to reassure her that we’ll be fine for us to leave.”

“A mom thing huh,” Roxas smirked, “Lea can get like that when Xion and I stay out too late. Says we almost give him heart attacks. But he isn’t strict like Aqua. If he’s not working he’s eating or taking a nap.”

“He _is_ single parenting you two, I can’t blame him for getting worried. Though it’s good he trusts you two enough to be fine out in the town. He’s kinda like Terra in that sense.”

“The big guy?” Roxas crossed his arms, “Never would’ve thought he and Lea shared something in common. They’re like polar opposites.”

She giggled into her hand, “Maybe in work ethic. You won’t ever catch Terra taking a nap for the sake of taking one. He trains a lot, but he’s just more laid back than Aqua.”

“Is he nice to you too? I heard a lot about him from Ven,”

“Mmhm,” her eyes crinkled, “we do a lot of art projects together. He likes to carve things out of wood, sometimes I design them, but I usually just paint them.”

Roxas stared at her in disbelief, “You’re telling me that tank of a guy likes art too?”

Naminé took another bite out of her ice cream, “Mmhm! And he knows how to braid hair.”

“ _How?_ ”

“He said that Aqua used to make him play dress up with her when they were younger. So he just picked it up from there.” She grinned at Roxas’ dumbfounded expression, “Is it too hard to believe?”

“I just never expected it from that guy.” He rested his chin on his fist and pressed his lips together, “Actually, that I think about it, you live in a castle full of people who’re all artsy in some type of way.”

Naminé hummed, “You’re right.”

He turned to her with a warm smile, “Sounds like you found your family.”

Naminé felt her face flush with joy as she took another bite, “I guess I did.”

Roxas gave a playful poke to Naminé’s rosy cheeks, making her let out a small laugh. “Anyway, enough about me, how’s life here in Twilight Town?”

He gave a soft sigh as he leaned back on his palms, “Great, it’s good living the normal life. Well, as normal as my life can get anyway.”

“Hm, I bet.”

“Lea, Xion and I live in a bigger apartment than the one I lived in before, so there’s more room to go around. Lea works at the ice cream shop now, which isn’t surprising, he’s in it for the discounts,” he rolled his eyes, but his smile was bemused, “Xion and I usually just do odd jobs around town, running errands and stuff. At least for now til school starts, though i don’t know how that’s gonna go down, since we’ve never been to school before.”

“Maybe Lea will figure something out, you know with his ‘flexible thinking’,” Naminé quipped.

“Heh, right. He did say he’d figure something out.”

“Have you been with Hayner, Pence and Olette?”

He nodded, “Xion and I hang out with them when they’re not doing homework. We can’t really help out with that. Xion has got into Struggle, and pretty much takes advantage of the fact lots of the players underestimate her for being a girl.” He snickered a little, “It’s funny watching them lose.”

Naminé shook her head, albeit she was smiling, “ _Roxas_.”

“What? It _is_ funny. I should bring you to watch next time there’s a tournament.”

She hummed and finished the rest of her ice cream off. She stared at the sunset for a while, and when she spoke again, it came off as a low murmur, “It feels so strange.”

Roxas squinted a little, “What feels strange?”

“Living.”

He stayed silent, not expecting that as her answer.

“Back then, when we were still Nobodies, I never would have thought I could live like this, on my own terms. I was so set on just returning to Kairi, and really just becoming her shadow, and living through her.” She gripped the stick in her hands, “Sometimes I’m afraid that this is all a dream, because it’s just too good to be real.”

She stared at her hands, her vision becoming blurred when she felt two warm hands overlap hers.

“This is real.” His voice was gentle and he softly opened her fingers from the tight grip it had on her popsicle stick, “And sometimes, you just need a little reminder that it isn’t all a dream. ”

She blinked her tears away as he meticulously opened her fingers from their solid grasp, only to see the word ‘Winner’ written on the stick.

Roxas smiled and held the stick up for her to see better, “See? You won your life back.”

Naminé sniffed and gave him a wobbly smile, hoping her eyes could convey the gratitude her words couldn’t.

“Now, we don’t have to live on through Sora and Kairi. We can do whatever we want with our new lives. You get to live in a castle full of people like you, and I get to live the normal life I’ve always wanted.” He scratched his cheek sheepishly, “I know sometimes it’s hard to believe, but if you need a reminder again, we could always meet up again and have ice cream like this. If you want to anyway.”

Naminé reached out and gently grabbed one of his hands in hers, her eyes sparkling with all the emotions she couldn’t convey and nodded, “I’d love to.”


End file.
